Magic Knight Rayearth Fan Fiction ❯ Echoes of Destiny ❯ Spring Rain ( Chapter 4 )

Echoes of Destiny
Spring Rain

***

"In six hours, the Path will open."

The Creator's announcement was met only with silence from the three Mashin. They stared at him with unemotional eyes as they were taught to always do, but the way their mouths were fixed indicated that they were not exactly pleased with His decision. So, He repeated Himself.

"The Path will open in six hours. I have made My decision."

"Are You sure this is wise?" asked Windam. "You are choosing rather early."

"I am sure."

"The Magic Knight and the Autozam commander are still the candidates," said Rayearth. "If You were hoping that another candidate would appear--"

"I am sure that will come in time," Selece replied. "There are several willpowers and hearts that are growing in this short period of time; Who knows where they might be headed in six?"

"Yet You still disagree."

"Of course. I agree with Windam, however; His decision is coming quite prematurely."

"I did not need a whole day to think," the Creator snapped. "In the end, I realized that this is My duty. I have to open the Path to the Pillar when the opportunity arises. I cannot stall for any reason whatsoever. In six hours, the Path will open, for that is when everything will be laid into place if things proceed as they have been."

Selece sighed. "If things proceed as they have been going, then another candidate will arise."

"The strongest hearts get the prize, Selece," said Rayearth. "Not the strongest will. From what I can see, there are wishes and desires that are being given more attention than ever before."

"You do realize that this is also including Eagle Vision, do You not?"

"His candidacy might falter," said Windam. "His wish is not changing, but his heart is growing weaker. Even if a bit slightly, but that slight difference may change everything."

"Tell Me, Mashin," the Creator demanded, "You keep making observations about the candidates as well as the candidates You see might be born? Tell Me, name a couple of these people."

The Three were silent for a while, hesitant with what They were about to say, until finally, Windam spoke up.

"There is no proof yet. We are merely just seeing into the future that might be. The future that will come almost certainly. The magic swordsman of Cephiro still has the strongest heart out of all the people of Cephiro, but it is still nothing compared to Shidou Hikaru and Eagle Vision. Nobody in Cephiro is showing a change of willpower or strength of heart; have you been paying attention to the royalty of Chizeta and Fahren? The commanding crew of the NSX?"

"Though I do not believe that the Lady Aska of Fahren will become the candidate," said Selece. "She has a strong heart, the strongest of the people of Fahren, especially since she was able to handle the Maboroshi Chikara. But it was more of her strong will -- her temporary strong will -- that allowed her to accomplish the task and survive."

"And the princesses of Chizeta?" the Creator asked.

Rayearth said, "One of the princesses is falling in love. However, her heart is still torn between him and her dedication to her sister; with that conflict, she is not fit to be Pillar. As for her younger sister, she is not willing to take risks that would allow her to lose anybody close to her."

"So, the new candidate is from Autozam?"

The three Mashin glanced at each other with a look of nervousness the Creator was absolutely certain He made sure that They would never have.

"We think," said Selece, "that it might be so."

***

It took at least an hour before Eagle's eyesight returned to stability, but unfortunately, all he kept reassuring to Tarta was that he could see fuzzy objects; he was in no shape to walk around unless he accidentally ran into something sharp. Tarta had been about to retort that there was nothing at all dangerous for a clumsy person on the Bravada, but decided that if she was going to uphold her loyalty to her sister, she had best not say anything to encourage Eagle to escape.

So, not only did she not tell Eagle how safe the Bravada was, but she stayed with Eagle to make sure he would not leave.

She entertained herself by checking every five minutes how Eagle's vision was developing.

"All right, how many fingers am I holding up now?"

It had to be the fiftieth time since Eagle announced that his eyesight was returning that she had asked that, and for the fiftieth time, Eagle squinted and paused for about ten seconds--Tarta counted.

"Three."

Tarta sighed and pulled her hand down from his sight. "If it takes you that long--"

"I know, I know. I can't possibly get around by myself."

She frowned. "That wasn't what I was about to say. If it's taking you this long to get your full vision back, maybe your horrible eyesight is permanent."

Unlike how Tarta would view a normal person would react to such news--with hysteria or sadness--Eagle merely smiled and said, "That might be bad. I could never pilot the FTO again unless I get surgery done."

"Surgery?"

"It's a medical operation."

Tarta blinked. "What?"

"If someone is sick, then it takes doctors to find out what's wrong. If it is inside of the body, or if it requires a replacement of a body organ, then, well, they open the person up to discover what it is."

She widened her eyes and her jaw fell. "Does it hurt?"

"No; the patient is put on painkillers. I take it that Chizeta has a different way of healing people."

"Well, yeah. If someone is sick, then we use herbs or something to get them to get better. If someone is injured, we just bandage them up."

"And hope for the best?"

"That's all we need to do. We can't and don't open people up to replace their stomach just because they have a tummy ache; we have healing herbs. If someone is cursed enough to have bad eyesight--like you--then they just have to suck up and deal. If the ailment is contagious, then the patient and family and healer are quarantined until the illness is gone for sure."

"With all of that, I wonder why you have such an overpopulation problem."

Tarta gritted her teeth. "How dare you! We have skilled healers; they know what they're doing. Even if it's some sort of sickness that has never come across Chizeta before, they can find a way to heal them! We don't need no technology or opening people up to find out what's wrong and get them better!"

Eagle only continued to smile. "I apologize."

Tarta scowled, and since she had nothing else to say, she held up her hand again.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Pause.

"Five."

"Are you getting used to your vision?"

"No. I think it's getting better."

"Hmph."

"You sound disappointed."

"That's none of your business."

Eagle laughed. "I know you're still here because you don't trust me enough to leave me alone. I might try to escape as soon as my full vision returns, if it ever does. Now I have faith that it will come completely back, and as long as I believe in it, it will."

"And then you'll attempt to escape," replied Tarta, eyebrow arched. "You know I won't let you. Neither would Neesan."

"Is Geo still onboard?"

"How am I supposed to know?! And what does that have to do with anything?"

Eagle said nothing, and Tarta decided to stay silent as well for a while to recollect her temper. Did Eagle have some sort of plan? Or maybe he and Geo had schemed something up and Eagle had just been lying through his teeth; in order for the plan to work out, did the sub-commander still have to be onboard or back on the battleship?

But what if Eagle had told the truth? Was he still planning to escape, and wherever Geo was, it would affect said plan?

She drew in a large breath and slowly said, "Eagle, I never asked, but what is going on between you and that sub-commander? Are you still friends, or have you become enemies? Or maybe--"

"I don't know," said Eagle with eyes filled with sorrow and regret, "but it would probably be better for both of us if we were now enemies."

"Why?"

"Because--" He hesitated. "If he ever discovered my reasons for trying to become the Pillar, our friendship would no longer exist. And that would be good, in a way, since the Pillar is not allowed to love anybody or anything else but Cephiro."

"So it's not for Autozam."

"I thought we had cleared that up before? It's no use lying when everybody now knows differently."

Tarta knitted her eyebrows together. "But... will you ever tell him? Or does he know exactly what it is?"

"No. He doesn't know. But I think that if I tell him, it would be for the best for everybody."

"Why?"

Eagle paused for a moment. "It's complicated."

Tarta sighed as a frigid breeze of sadness blew in her heart. She still hated the sub-commander, but in Eagle's eyes she could see that he was lying horribly. He truly did not want to lose his friendship with Geo, although he tried to convince himself otherwise. He probably had never considered losing his best and closest friend until Geo had tried to stop him to figure out what Eagle really wanted from the Pillar.

While Tarta did not care about anything that would happen to the sub-commander, she did care about what happened to Eagle; his heart was crying because he was about to lose his best friend, and for that reason, Tarta found another reason to resent Geo Metro.

"How many fingers am I holding up now?"

Eagle squinted only slightly.

"Two."

Tarta raised both eyebrows. "I think you're healing faster than before."

"So do I."

"Is it because of your willpower in this land?"

"Perhaps. I wouldn't doubt it."

Tarta shrugged. News like that no longer surprised her. "How well can you see now?"

"It's still fuzzy, but I can see the shapes and edges of objects. Though, I can't really see any small details unless I squint or maybe if I get closer to the object. I guess this is what the doctors call 'near-sighted'."

"Near-sighted?"

"Meaning I can only see things close to me, but not far away."

Tarta bit her lip and hesitated. "Can you see me?"

"Yes, but not very well," he replied with a smile that now seemed more charismatic than cute. "But I can see your facial expressions now; how nervous are you around me? Do you not trust me at all? I wouldn't blame you--"

"No, that's not what I meant--I was just wondering how far your vision can go."

"You're pretty close. There's only the table in between us."

Tarta shrugged, looked away, and only offered, "Still."

He laughed his bell-like laugh again. "If I were you, I wouldn't trust me very much. The blindness had been a handicap for me, which is why I gave in--temporarily. Which is why I'm being civil about being held captive--temporarily."

Tarta's face hardened. "Your sub-commander said that he would not consider you a prisoner if we helped him capture you."

"He's a diplomatic man. A bit of a contradiction, if you think about it. Most fighters talk with their guns and not with their hearts. They don't even have a thought of peace in their mind."

"Autozam soldiers don't!" Tarta snapped. "How could you think of such a thing about all warriors? Chizeta's guards and soldiers grow up and are trained to fight only to keep the peace. They fight because they want peace, not because they're bloodthirsty. They feel guilt for every man they kill and often make condolences at that man's memorial service. How could you think such a thing?!"

"Perhaps it's the way I grew up," replied Eagle, his eyes jumping up at Tarta. With his eyes so full of life as opposed to the death from before, Tarta saw more emotions than she had ever thought could be reflected in such pools. "Autozam soldiers aren't taught morals. They are taught honor; morals come from their mothers when they are young children. They are taught how to win with honor."

"They are taught to get what they want with violence," Tarta retorted.

"If negotiations will not work," he replied, his smile faltering. "That is what we did with you. We tried to get you to stop from invading, but you refused to, so we battled. If a cold war cannot help, then a war of fire is what we need to use to help ourselves."

Tarta laughed bitterly. "You certainly did stop at least Neesan and myself from invading; we only fought you for one reason: to protect Cephiro."

Eagle blinked and stared at Tarta. "'To protect Cephiro'? What about the Pillar? Did you not want to gain Cephiro to ease Chizeta's overpopulation?"

"Well, we gave UP on the Pillar--or, at least, I did," Tarta said. "I don't think Neesan ever wanted the Pillar in the first place. I swear she knows something I don't about it; she just came along because--I think--to keep me out of trouble. I think. I'm not sure. But after your lecture to Princess Aska, I decided that if I talked to the rulers of Cephiro, I could gain at least some portion of the land to colonize. Just a tiny bit, that's all we need, and preferably for the farmers. But I knew I could not get that land if you won."

"You could have told me. You could have stood up for yourself and told me."

"You never gave me a chance."

"If you were strong enough, you wouldn't have needed me to give you a chance," Eagle replied serenely. "Just because I only asked for a 'yes' or 'no' answer doesn't necessarily mean I did not want anything more."

Tarta scowled. "You should have told us. I'm sure Princess Aska would say the same thing--she probably gave up on the Pillar as well."

"You need people to tell you what to do? You need someone to tell you to stand up for what you believe in?"

"But--" Tarta began but said nothing more when she realized that she had nothing to say to that. She had no rebuttal.

However, a regretful resent settled into her. She hated to say that Eagle was right; she should have known better. Knowing that a simple "yes" or "no" was the worst answer to give in a diplomatic situation was universal. Why had speeches been given far too often in the past?

Eagle stood. "Thank you for your hospitality," he said quietly, "but I am afraid that I must leave now."

He walked out of the room, and Tarta was left speechless and downhearted.

By the time she could pick up her feet to stop the commander, it was far too late.

Two others had tried to stop him first.

***

Eagle knew that the FTO would not be anywhere on the Bravada. If Geo did not want him going out to battle, then he would not put it someplace in immediate reach of Eagle's grasp. However, Eagle knew that Geo had to have made it to the Bravada from the NSX somehow, and once Eagle discovered what it was, he would return to the NSX and attempt to locate the FTO.

His vision had fully returned. He could see perfectly. While there was no longer any battle to attend to, Eagle needed to get out of reach from everybody who would try to stop him. He could not become Pillar if he was being held against his will.

The first thing Eagle needed to do was find a way out of the Bravada. It must be late at night; he was certain that the princesses would illuminate the hallways to show of the golden elegance, for against the dark navy color he could see shiny creatures and plants engraved on the edges of the walls. Most people must be asleep, which, he figured, would prove to both help and hinder. There was less of a chance he could get caught, and if he did, it would be far too late. However, royalty must have a very efficient way of protecting their abode from theives, so the security system must be very tight.

If only the royal guard had not been so insistent on unarming him, then he would find some method of fighting back.

Although, he reminded himself; being from Autozam, he was quite athletic. He was a great runner despite constantly becoming short-winded; he could jump higher distances than most; and above all, he could hold against his own even in a fist fight, even if he never attacked. It was about evading the onslaughts; he saved the actual fighting for his mecha.

Now that he had gained his full breath back and dangers of collapsing were no longer imminent, he picked up his feet to jog again, but before he could go far, well...

"Eagle!"

He halted immediately, although he had to momentary ask himself why only the voice of his former best friend had managed to stop him.

Eagle slowly turned around and saw that Geo and Tatra had just turned the corner from another, adjoining corridor, and both were staring at him, astonished.

He said the first thing that came to mind, "I already thanked your sister, but I guess I must show my gratitude as well, himesama. I appreciate your hospitality, but I must leave now."

Geo opened his mouth angrily to protest, but Tatra silenced him.

"I take it your eyesight has returned," she said quietly. Eagle nodded. "What did you do to my sister?"

Eagle blinked. "I-- nothing."

She narrowed her eyes. "I know Tarta. She would not let you go without at least some sort of fight. Even if you did not hurt her, I sure do not see her chasing you. What did you to do her?"

"Maybe I said something to stop her from preventing me from escaping," Eagle offered truthfully. "We did have an intense conversation."

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Geo demanded. "It would do you no good to go either to the NSX or the Dome. Why are you so anxious to get out?"

Eagle shrugged. "Maybe I am trying to go someplace where nobody can stop me from making my own decisions, despite me being the commander of the NSX."

He blinked at his own words as Geo bit his lip, looking more than offended. He had not meant to sound so sarcastic or bitter, especially not to him. It was too late now; Eagle knew better than to apologize for his attitude. After all, he told himself, this was for the better. If he managed to let go of all attachments, he would have a better chance to get what he needed.

Geo shook his head and took a step closer to Eagle. Eagle kept his footing and refused to step back; he was not afraid of Geo; there was no need to be. But he did look away and refused to meet his eyes.

"Eagle, I--" he hesitated. "I'm sorry for betraying you back there. I really am. But... you were going to get killed, and I could not let that happen."

"Even if I wanted it?"

"If you had told me beforehand, maybe I wouldn't have stopped you."

Eagle frowned. "I don't believe that. You're too nice to me; even if I wanted to die, you wouldn't let me."

"Well, that's what friends are for. Why didn't you tell me about the Audi TT?"

His heart jumped, and Eagle snapped his head towards Geo with widened eyes. What surprised him further was the bitterness that painted Geo's face, and Tatra's indifferent reaction with only sadness in her eyes.

Geo sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes, I told the princesses--all three of them--about your illness. Don't worry; Zazu doesn't know yet, and I want him to hear it from you and only from you. Don't you think you owe the kid that much?"

"Why did you tell them about it?" Eagle demanded.

"To save your life," Geo said as he reopened his eyes, a glare within his pupils. "Luckily, Zazu didn't need to know that in order to try to launch the GTO for me, but I think, somehow, he knows, as well. Why else would he go against a commander's orders in favor of a mere sub-commander's?"

"I guess changing the passwords wasn't good enough."

"It was for a while, until you stopped attacking the Bravada and the Dome and I was able to contact the princesses with reassurance that we would not be interrupted."

"Which leads to my question," Tatra piped up with a low tune. "Why did you stop attacking us? Why did you start attacking the people of Cephiro?"

Eagle stared at Tatra, attempting to think up some sort of answer. How could he explain to Geo why he started fighting Lantis--and, ultimately, explain to him why he was so intent on becoming the Pillar? Despite what he had told Tarta earlier, he was unsure if this was really what he wanted. He didn't know if he wanted to lose his best friend forever. After all, weren't Pillars allowed to love people, and wouldn't a best friend count as those people?

He scowled. That must have been Princess Emeraude's logic when she fell in love with Lantis's brother.

Tatra wasn't the only one who was so perceptive, either. He had forgotten how good Geo was at that sport.

"Is it because of your real reason for becoming the Pillar?"

Eagle decided that he was not going to answer the question and turned away, heading in the direction he had been going before he allowed himself to be stopped.

This time, the force that stopped him was not anything of his own, but Geo's persistence. He strong hand grasped his shoulder and gently forced Eagle around. He stared at Geo defiantly. He did not want this.

"Eagle, please, just answer the question--"

"I don't want to."

Geo stared at him for a long moment, astonished by the answer. He then sighed and dropped his head and exasperation. "Please. If you go, I don't want--" He paused and exhaled a great breath. "I don't want any lies--" He paused again. "I don't want any secrets to be in between us when --if-- you go. Leave."

"There's no need to be so diplomatic," said Eagle, hoping he didn't sound too cold. He was, in a reminiscent sort of way, amused by Geo's slips and attempts to cover them up.

I will miss this.

"Eagle, I--"

Eagle shook his head. "No. I can't tell you."

Geo's face darkened. "You said that our friendship was already ruined a while back. I'm believing it more and more now. If you look at it that way, then there will be no harm in telling me. So please."

"Would you denounce our friendship to find out my true motives?"

"Eagle, I would do anything for you."

Beyond Geo's side, Eagle saw Tatra turn her head down sadly. He bit his lip, having no immediate response. It was a lot like that time when Eagle explained the "fake" battle plans to Geo--

"Ever since I joined your side, I put my life in your hands. Do what you want. I'll follow you no matter what."

Eagle shook his head to rid himself of those words. "Geo, I don't deserve your loyalty. Give it to somebody who does."

With a slight nod to Tatra, who stiffened in surprise, he turned away and walked away again.

"Eagle, wait," Geo called again. "I need to know. Is it so horrible that you can't tell me?"

Eagle stopped but did not turn around. He sighed. "Yes."

"I won't hate you--"

"It's not me I'm afraid you're going to hate, even though I know we would no longer be friends if I told you why I want to become Pillar."

Eagle began walking again with a reassurance that Geo would not stop him again. He hoped that it would be plentiful to keep him quiet so that he may never have to tell him the real reason. There would be so much less tension if Geo knew nothing more than what Eagle had revealed to him.

However, Geo was too perceptive for Eagle's liking.

"It's for Lantis, isn't it?"

Eagle halted in mid-stride, his head shooting up and his eyes flying wide open. How...?

"It's for Lantis, isn't it?" Geo asked again, anger seeping through his voice.

Eagle clenched his fists and shut his eyes tight and began walking again. He could not tell Geo the truth. He could not tell Geo his real intentions behind the invasion. He could not tell Geo that he was right.

"Your actions are confirming Geo-san's theory," said Tatra, and that was all Eagle needed to finally turn back around.

The sight astonished him, and his mouth hung ajar. Despite what Geo's tone had sounded earlier, he wasn't truly angry. His head was cast down, but Eagle could see that his features were twisted into agony, and he refused to even look at him. His otherwise casually stiff composure was sulked, vulnerable, and weak; it was nothing that Geo was supposed to be.

Tatra stared at Eagle mournfully. "Is Lantis another friend of yours?"

He slowly nodded. Tatra cast a glance towards Geo, and then turned her head down for a moment before bringing it back up to face Eagle.

"He is not from Autozam?"

Eagle shook his head. "From Cephiro," he answered.

"That's how you know about the Pillar."

Eagle nodded again. Tatra opened her mouth again, but immediately clamped it shut. Apparently, she didn't want to ask anything more that could possibly offend Geo.

She turned towards him and whispered something to him. Geo turned away and muttered something in return, which only increased the trouble written in her face. Eagle could no longer take it; was the sinking feeling he felt really the result of a friendship falling apart?

"I'm sorry, Geo," Eagle said softly, and for the last time that night, turned and ran down the corridor, doing everything within his power to push the memory into the darkest part of his heart that would never see the light of day again.

***

Tarta knew better than to make her presence known to the three. She had nothing intelligent to say, and by the words and actions of her elder sister and the other Autozamian, violence was not what they wanted to do to the commander, and that was all Tarta would be able to contribute to, even if it would be against her will.

When Eagle was finally able to leave without either Tatra or Geo stopping him, Tarta slowly took a small step into the main hallway to get a better view of what was going on.

It wasn't anything pretty.

The sub-commander had leaned over the wall with his forearm as a pillow for his forehead, and his eyes closed in a disturbingly gloomy manner. His posture was no longer one of nobility, rigid and proud, but almost like a commoner's worn-out, casual slump. His fists were loosened, and his other arm limped by his side.

When Tatra noticed this movement, she approached him silently and gracefully despite her troubled expression and placed her palm on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Tarta scowled at her sister's idiocy; what kind of question was that? Even if Tarta didn't care about him in the slightest, it didn't stop her from noticing that Geo was anything but all right!

He only answered with a small sigh.

He certainly was acting uncharacteristically, from the small knowledge Tarta knew about him.

"I should have known," he muttered as his fists clenched into a tight brown ball. "The hints were there. How could I have missed it?"

Tatra hesitated, apparently not knowing how to answer that. Well, of course she wouldn't know; how was she supposed to when she had only met Geo only a few hours ago? And Tatra certainly hadn't been on the NSX before Autozam declared war on Chizeta and Fahren. She didn't know what had happened on that battleship.

Okay. No wonder Neesan is so attracted to him, Tarta thought bitterly. They're BOTH idiots, asking impossible questions.

"May I ask," Tatra began quietly, "who Lantis is?"

"A friend. Or, he was a friend until Eagle decided to invade his country. Lantis is from Cephiro, you see. And, at least, I thought he was an ex-friend since Eagle decided to invade Cephiro until just now."

"Did you two get along?"

Geo shifted so that his back was against the wall, but his lax position never faltered. "I don't know. We definitely didn't at first; we're completely opposite from each other. He was always so serious and brooding, and almost never spoke a word unless he was only with Eagle. And, me, well, you should know. I was anything but."

It took everything in Tarta's power to keep from saying, Well, you're surely acting like him now.

"Opposites attract," Tatra replied with an obvious smile on her face. "But when two people are too opposite, nothing can go right in their relationship. However--" Tatra's tone turned solemn. "--there were more reasons than just personality, was there not?"

Geo laughed bitterly. "I forget how intelligent you are."

So do I.

"So there were more reasons?"

He sighed. "Yes."

"May I ask what they were?"

"Are you trying to figure something out? Like why I'm not stopping Eagle right now?"

"Well... now that you mention it, that as well as why you suddenly became so upset and angry at the mere thought of Eagle-san's reason for wanting to become Pillar for Lantis."

He sighed again, but said nothing and only closed his eyes.

"Did it have to do with your past with him?" Tatra asked.

"I hope you aren't thinking up of honorable excuses for my behavior," Geo snapped. "It's nothing of the sort. I was never in the right and he in the wrong, nor that I thought that Lantis was a bad role model for Eagle. Rather, I think that Eagle was a good role model for Lantis. Lantis and I did manage to get along after he stayed in Autozam for about a couple of months."

"But he befriended Eagle-san first."

"Eagle and Zazu at the same time, practically. But the thing is, he trusted Eagle more than he ever did either Zazu or myself... and likewise for Eagle." He slumped to the ground and held his head with both his hands. "You might say... that I'm jealous."

Tarta blinked, and she was certain that her sister had done the same thing. What person of nobility in their right mind would say something that would put himself in the wrong for his actions? What person of nobility would admit that his reasons for getting upset were not of anything of honor, but because of his true emotions? What person of nobility would tell the truth to someone who is nothing like him and had only met that person a short while ago?

Unless there was something about this particular sub-commander that Tarta knew absolutely nothing about.

"You're jealous that Eagle-san would choose him over you? That he would rather sacrifice himself for him rather than you?"

Geo shook his head. "I wouldn't want Eagle to throw his life away for me like I did for him. That would ruin the entire purpose."

"So why...?"

"It's probably just a grudge thing." He turned his head up and smiled at Tatra. "Don't worry about it. It might take Eagle a long time to figure out how to get out of here, and an even longer time to realize what we did with his FTO. And by now, unless Zazu decided to take a break and get some rest, the passwords to the fighter mecha should be cracked. I'm not worried."

"Liar."

Tarta hid a smile. Exactly what was on my mind, Neesan.

"You're still a nice man," she continued, placing her hands on the sides of his face as she knelt down to be face-to-face with him.

That wasn't on my mind.

"You don't want him to die, and you think that he's smart enough to figure everything out within time. You still wish to do anything to keep him alive?"

Geo slowly nodded. "Yes."

"If only more men like you existed," Tatra said quietly and gently wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a small embrace.

Tarta blinked and frowned. She quickly hid herself back on the other side of the corner and headed down the hallway back to the centre.

She had been afraid of her sister befriending the men of Autozam, but she never expected this. She never expected her sister being so gentle, so kind, so sweet to them, and she momentarily wondered what the sub-commander had done to brainwash her sister.

Tatra was heir to the throne of Chizeta.

She could not afford to fall in love with a foreigner.

Chapter Five: The Spark Between Seasons